How sad that Mr. Paul R. Shriver does not see the irony contained in his letter of Feb. 27. Mr. Shriver, apparently not only ill versed in history, but a self-proclaimed oracle as well, tells us that there have been "other presidents that we are ashamed of."
It seems we do not have a choice as to how we view Messrs. Grant, Nixon and Clinton. Mr. Shriver has decided this for us all. He also alludes none too succinctly to the fact that we are ashamed of our current president as well. He declares that it must be the feeling of all Americans that the current administration has "low moral character."
I could easily counter that statement with examples from any administration, including the last, if it made any sense to do so. Every president in my lifetime (from Harry Truman forward) has made gaffes that have been cringe worthy, but I, and I suspect many others, have not been "embarrassed" by them. Not in the absolute.
I disagreed with virtually everything Mr. Obama stood for, and he did some things that infuriated me, but he was my president, doing what he was elected to do. I was never "embarrassed" to call him my president. I despised Richard Nixon's handling of the Vietnam war, but he also was a great friend to Israel, and opened relations with "Communist" China via "Ping Pong Diplomacy." Those accomplishments deserve more credit than they received.
I did not vote for Bill Clinton and was astonished by his dalliances, but he was also the last president to enjoy at least a modicum of bipartisan cooperation in Congress. He did not embarrass me either.
I voted for Donald Trump, who, like Mr. Obama, is also doing what his constituents elected him to do. I do not agree with everything he says and does, but he is being true to the promises he made as a candidate, which is what every elected official should seek to do.
Many people are not fans of Donald Trump, but to exhibit the arrogance expressed by Mr. Shriver speaks to the fact that in reality, it is his kind of shortsightedness and intolerance for those with whom he disagrees that is the real reason for the "dark time" he laments in his letter.
Glenn Schuster
Long Neck
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